MEMORY STRATEGIESThe Importance of Preparing for a Test

Memory Self TestDirections: Read the items below and place a check in the box that best describes how true this statement is for you.Scoring:Never = 0, Sometimes = 1,  Often= 2, Always = 3

1. I am able to easily remember what has been said or done in the past 24 hours.

2. I can easily remember information for a short period of time (e.g., a phone number).

3. I am able to easily hold information in my head while working with it (e.g., perform mental arithmetic, take notes while listening to a lecture).

4. I can easily recall information that I learned in school.

5. When I read, I remember the important facts.

6. I am easily able to recall events, things I have done or places I have been, in detail.

7. I can easily recognize someone’s face that I have seen before.

8. It is easy for me to remember movies I have seen.

9. I use specific memory strategies, such as saying things over and over or making mental pictures.

10. It is easy for me to remember where I put things.

Self-Scoring

20-30 You have a memory like an elephant.10-19 Your memory may need some work.0-9 You may need to keep a string tied around your finger! * NOTE: This self-test has no diagnostic value. It

is not intended that this score be used as part of any school record or evaluation.

What Strategies Can Be Used To Increase Memory?

Memory strategies are tools we use to help us remember things. Some memory strategies are helpful for how we learn information, while other strategies are helpful for how we recall information that we have already learned.

1. Review and Repeat   The more you repeat information, the

more likely it is that you will remember it. It also helps you remember new information if you review it along with information you already know. 

2. Say It, Write It Involving multiple senses (e.g., seeing,

hearing, touching, doing) helps you learn and remember information by giving you different ways for your brain to get the information, as well as by repeating the information.

3. Personalize It Children are more likely to remember

information if it relates to them. If they can relate it to something they already know and have experienced, they are more likely to remember it.

4. Rhymes and Songs Rhythm, rhyme, and music can help us

remember information.

5. Tell a Story Stories allow us to create a picture in

our minds that is easy to remember later.

6. Prediction If students are actively involved in

learning, they are more likely to remember what is being taught. One way to involve students in learning is through prediction. Ask students what they know about a topic and what they would like to learn.

7. Chunk It Chunking is a way of learning

information by breaking it up into related pieces. Telephone numbers are often learned through chunking, by grouping the numbers into sets of three or four.

8. Acronyms Acronyms can help children remember

information they’ve learned by using the first letter from a group of words to make a new word.

9. Acrostics Acrostics use the first letter of words to

make a saying. Acrostics are especially useful when you have to remember information in a specific order. For example, you can remember how to spell “rhythm” by using the acrostic “Rhythm helps your two hips move.”

10. Stress, Sleep, and Brain Overload

It is more difficult to remember information when we are stressed-out, tired, or have overloaded our brains with information. Learners should get plenty of sleep and should take study breaks before they reach the point of overload when learning a lot of new information.

(www.handyhandouts.com.)

11. Note taking is an activity that may help students

register information in memory as well as to consolidate it.

12. Study at Night It may be helpful for students to review

material right before going to sleep at night. Research has shown that information studied this way is better remembered.

13. Draw When students need to remember a

series of steps or events, it may be helpful for them to draw diagrams or flow charts of the steps/events

14. Pairing Paired associations as well as most other

information is remembered better when it is rehearsed using multiple sensory modalities. For example, a student who is trying to remember basic math facts would walk a number line as they were saying the math facts.

(http://www.cdl.org/articles/what-strategies-can-be-used-to-increase-memory/)

Let’s Watch This Videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSq8M1fsKpw

Prepared by:Hasmin R. Omaoeng